“I think the easiest people to fool are ourselves. Fooling ourselves may even be a necessary precondition for fooling others.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“There is only darkness, starless and complete. The waves glitter like a million dull knives.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“It was as if some magnetic repulsion, which before had kept our two carriages from meeting and passing, had now been reversed, and so sucked me inexorably forward, drawing me towards something my heart made clear I feared - or should fear - utterly, in the way some people are fatally attracted towards an abyss while standing on its very edge.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“He would never forget the feeling of that first year, the sense of freedom just being on his own gave him. He had his own room for the first time, his own money to spend as he wanted, his own food to buy and places to go and decisions to make; it was glorious, sublime.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“I luv the ded, this old baster sez to me when I wiz tryin to get some innfurmashin out ov him. You fukin old pervirt I sez, gettin a bit fed up by this time enyway, an slit his throate; ah asks you whare the fukin Sleeping Byootie woz, no whit kind of humpin you lyke.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“jammed inside the bastard for three hours.’). And that bridge, the bridge . . . have to make a pilgrimage to”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“Future became Present, Present became Past. A truth so banal, so obvious and accepted that he had somehow managed to ignore it before.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“You don't belong to her and she doesn't belong to you, but you're both part of each other; if she got up and left now and walked away and you never saw each other again for the rest of your lives, and you lived an ordinary waking life for another fifty years, even so on your deathbed you would know she was part of you.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“This is not a long bridge, but it goes on for ever. I am not far from the bank, but I will never get there. I walk but I never move. Fast or slow, running, turning, doubling back, jumping, throwing myself or stopping; nothing makes any difference.”
― Iain Banks, quote from The Bridge
“Roses," Georgiana repeated, her thoughtful gaze touching his. "It's about time one of the Carroway men
decided to cultivate something other than their poor reputations.”
― Suzanne Enoch, quote from England's Perfect Hero
“Most of us spend most of our time in other peoples’ worlds — working at predetermined jobs, relaxing to pre-packaged entertainment — and no matter how benign this ready-made world may be, there will always be times when something is missing or doesn’t quite ring true.”
― quote from Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
“It's amazing how something can be blue and yet absolutely colorless.”
― Julie Halpern, quote from Get Well Soon
“Vish, the creator; and Shiv, the destroyer, are simply two faces of the very same coin.”
― Ashwin Sanghi, quote from The Krishna Key
“Драги Тео,
Няма ли най-сетне животът да се отнася както трябва с мене? Отчаянието ме съсипва! Главата ми се пръска! Госпожа Сол Швимер предявява срещу мен иск, защото съм и направил моста така, както го чувствувам, а не както подхожда на нелепата и уста! Не мога да работя по поръчка като най-обикновен занаятчия! Реших мостът й да бъде внушителен и сводест, с необуздани и възпламеняващи зъби, щръкнали във всички посоки като огнени пламъци! А тя се разстройва, защото мостът не се помествал в устата и! Глупава еснафка, идва ми направо да я смажа! Опитах се да натикам моста насила, но той стърчи като блеснал полилей. Независимо от всичко, аз го намирам за прекрасен. Твърди, че не можела да дъвче! Какво ме интересува дали може да дъвче! Тео, не мога повече така! Помолих Сезан да работим в общ кабинет. Той обаче е стар и отпаднал, не е в състояние да държи инструментите и те трябва да се завързват за китките му. Тогава пък не може да работи прецизно и пъхнал ги веднъж в устата на пациента, му избива зъбите, вместо да ги поправя. Как да постъпя?
Винсент
***
Драги Тео,
Тази седмица направих няколко зъбни рентгенови снимки, които смятам за много сполучливи. Дега ги видя и ги разкритикува. Заяви, че са слаби в композиционно отношение. Всички кариеси били струпани в долния ляв ъгъл. Обясних му, че такава е устата на госпожа Слоткин, но той не пожела дори да ме изслуша. Каза, че рамките не му харесвали- махагонът стоял тромаво. След като си отиде, накъсах снимките на парченца. Не ми стигаше тази история, ами се заех да оправям корена на един от зъбите на госпожа Уилма Зардис, но по средата на работата паднах духом. Внезапно осъзнах, че каналът в корена не е това, което ми се работи! Лицето ми пламна, главата ми се замая. Избягах от кабинета, където можех да дишам на воля! За няколко дни изгубих съзнание и се свестих на морския бряг. Когато се върнах, тя продължаваше да стои на зъболекарския стол. Завърших работата си по задължение, но нямах сили да я подпиша.
Винсент”
― Woody Allen, quote from Without Feathers
BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.